Work Text:
Five rubbed the sleep out of his eyes; he couldn't afford to fall asleep when he had a final paper due the next day. The only reason he'd put it off was that he had to work, and, well, it was writing. He didn't like writing. Math and science were great, but writing was Vanya's thing.
He sighed agitatedly, harshly pressing the backspace button to get rid of a sentence he had just written. It didn't sound right; it made the flow of the paper seem awkward. He heard the creaking of the wooden floors beneath the carpet, signaling someone coming to his room.
"Why are you still up, Five?" Came Ben's voice from the doorway.
"I need to finish this," Five muttered, not even looking up from his laptop.
Another set of footsteps, and then, "Do you need me to edit it for you?" That time it was Vanya. "You should take a break for now."
Five shook his head, still typing. A break? He couldn't afford to take a break. It was almost midnight and he was only halfway through the paper. And the paper was due at seven in the morning. He couldn't take a break until it was turned in, then he could sleep for a few hours before going to work.
He heard someone plop in a chair near him, probably Ben. "Look, Five, it won't hurt to let Vanya edit what you have for now. You've been working on it since after dinner, sighing and muttering to yourself. Your brain is probably overheating." Five scoffed at that. "It's true!"
There were more footsteps, then he was pulled back slightly from the laptop on his desk. "Oh my gosh, just get up already," Vanya whined. "I'll read it through, edit it, and then in about twenty minutes you'll be working again."
Twenty minutes? Five glanced at the time. 12:00 am. Had he really been researching and writing since six o'clock? He looked away from the screen then blinked away the spots in his vision. It wasn't until then that he noticed the throbbing in his head. And the fact that he needed something to drink. When his stomach grumbled, he decided on coffee and a snack.
Five looked between Ben and Vanya, both sending him pleasing and expectant looks. "Well," he cleared his throat, reluctant to accept help, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to get some coffee or something from the kitchen, while Vanya looks through my paper. Just, don't take too long, alright?"
Ben and Vanya both grinned. The former exclaimed, "Great! I'll get you that coffee, you sit here." With that, Ben got up for the kitchen.
When Five got up from his chair, he was surprised by how unsteady his legs were. His right foot had even fallen asleep. He slumped in the chair Ben had sat in as Vanya swiftly sat at the desk. Right away, she was scanning his paper for errors, her expression determined.
Five smiled, a small upward quirk of his lips. He was lucky to have siblings who looked out for him and knew him well enough to know when he wouldn't. He knew he was a bit of a workaholic, but he just knew there wasn't enough time to do everything he wished to accomplish in the world. Even so, he supposed a break every once in a while wasn't such a bad idea. He was grateful for his siblings, and one day he wouldn't be so emotionally constipated so he could actually tell them.